Wednesday, August 8, 2012

HIGHLAND PARTY @ T.R.A.C.S

The Highlands (Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, "the place of the
Gaels"; Scots: the Hielands) are a historic region of Scotland.
The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was
culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland
Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used
for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact
boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen
divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic
name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels"
and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the
Western Isles and the Highlands.

Highland Games

Highland games are events held throughout the year in Scotland
and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and
heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain aspects of the games
are so well known as to have become emblematic of Scotland,
such as the bagpipes, the kilt, and the heavy events, especially the caber
toss. While centred on competitions in piping and drumming, dancing, and
Scottish heavy athletics, the games also include entertainment and exhibits
related to other aspects of Scottish and Gaelic culture.

Who Wants to Live Forever

"Who Wants
to Live Forever" is a song by the English rock band Queen. The song is the
sixth track on the album A Kind of Magic, released in June 1986, and was
written by guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander,
directed by Russell Mulcahy.

The song is used
to frame the scenes in the film where Connor MacLeod must endure his beloved
wife Heather growing old and dying while he, as an Immortal, remains forever
young. (It was later used in the episodes "The Gathering",
"Revenge is Sweet", "The Hunters", "Line of
Fire", and "Leader of the Pack" of the Highlander television
series.) The song's title is taken from a line in another movie scored by Brian
May and Queen, Flash Gordon (the line can be heard on Battle Theme from Queen
Flash Gordon soundtrack album).

May sings lead
vocals on the first verse, before Freddie Mercury takes over for most of the
rest of the song, with May singing "But touch my tears with your
lips" during Mercury's verse and then the final line of the song,
"Who waits forever anyway?". An instrumental version of the song,
titled "Forever", was included as a bonus track on the CD version of
the album. This instrumental featured only a piano, with keyboard accompaniment
during the chorus sections. The piano track was recorded solely by Brian May.
Queen was backed up by an orchestra, with orchestrations by the co-composer of
the film's score, Michael Kamen. Since its release, the song has been covered
by a number of artists.